Kickoff Set for 2 p.m. on Net Neutrality Regulation

Conn Carroll /
March 11, 2008

The House Judiciary committee’s Antitrust Task Force will be holding a hearing this afternoon on net neutrality regulation of the Internet, focusing on recent actions by Comcast to delay uploads of data by so-called “peer-to-peer” networks to avoid traffic congestion. Such networks are used by about 5 percent of Internet users, but consume as much as 70 percent of broadband capacity.

The Christian Coalition, oddly, will be there arguing in favor of banning steps to control such “bandwidth hogs.” It is almost alone among conservative groups in endorsing regulation (with liberal organizations such as Moveon.org taking the lead in favor). In an article today, Christopher Yoo, a Vanderbilt prof who also will testify today, points out some contradictions in the Christian Coalition’s position, saying that “on the one hand, [it] has endorsed network neutrality. On the other hand, [it] has asked the FCC to preserve network providers’ ability to screen out child pornography and obscenity…”